Hungary–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, Hungary and Russia. Hungary has an embassy in Moscow and two consulate-generals (in Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg). Russia has an embassy in Budapest and a consulate-general in Debrecen. Both countries are full members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Hungary is highly dependent on sources of energy imported from Russia. In the context of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, Viktor Orbán, Hungary's long-serving prime minister has been described as pro-Putin. Relations have deteriorated under prime minister Péter Magyar, who has pursued rapprochement with the European Union and Ukraine.
During the Second World War, the Soviet army occupied Hungary, and in 1948 the Soviet Union took full control of the country. It became part of the Warsaw Pact military alliance and the Comecon economic union. Relations between the two countries were strained in 1956 due to the Soviet military intervention in the revolution occurring in Hungary. Hungary expelled its communist government during the Revolutions of 1989, and diplomatic relations with Russia were restored after the breakup of the USSR in 1991.
History In the thirteenth century, a Hungarian Dominican friar named Julian traveled to the East in search of the ancestral home of the Hungarians.
During and following the Polish November Uprising of 1830–1831 against Russia, the counties and parliament of Hungary voiced their support for the Polish uprising.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 under Lajos Kossuth gained strong support across Hungary from 1848 to 1849. The young Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph appealed to Tsar Nicholas I for aid. He sent a large force that had been based in nearby Russian-controlled Congress Poland and it suppressed the revolt. However, the military intervention was unpopular among the ordinary soldiers and the liberal officers of the Russian army. It was sharply criticized by such democrats as Alexander Herzen and Nikolay Chernyshevsky.W. Bruce Lincoln, Nicholas I: Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (1989) pp 312–317 online.Ian Young, "The Russians in Hungary, 1849," History Today (1957) 7#3 pp 237-242Kenneth W. Rock, "Schwarzenberg versus Nicholas I, Round One: The Negotiation of the Habsburg-Romanov Alliance against Hungary in 1849." Austrian History Yearbook 6 (1970): 109-141.
Several hundred Hungarian volunteers fought alongside Poles in the January Uprising against Russia in 1863–1864, forming a large group among the foreign volunteers.
Budapest Convention of 1877 was a secret agreement between Austria-Hungary and Russia outlining Austria-Hungary’s neutrality and the division of influence in the Balkans in the event of a Russo-Turkish war. The secret convention allowed Russia to focus on military operations against the Ottoman Turks while ensuring Austria-Hungary’s neutrality. For Austria-Hungary, it prevented the creation of a powerful Slavic state that might inspire independence movements within its empire.
Hungary and the Soviet Union
Hungary was an ally of Germany during World War II. When Germany declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941, Hungary tried to remain neutral. When the controversial bombing of Kassa occurred, the government quickly declared the state of war existed between Hungary and the USSR, without receiving the consent of the Parliament.Carlile A. Macartney, Hungary's Declaration of War on the U.S.S.R. in 1941 in Studies in Diplomatic History & Historiography in Honour of GP Gooch (1962), p153-168.
The Hungarian People's Republic () was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the control of the Soviet Union. Following the Soviet occupation of Hungary after World War II, the Soviets set up a police system that persecuted all opposition through direct force and propaganda, hoping this would lead to a Communist victory in the elections of 1946. Despite these efforts, the Hungarian Communist Party came in third place in the elections, prompting the Soviets to directly impose a puppet government the following year. The next few years were spent consolidating power, using the ÁVH secret police to suppress political opposition through intimidation, false accusations, imprisonment and torture.UN General Assembly Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary (1957) The worst of the repression came under the rule of Mátyás Rákosi. At the height of his rule, Rákosi developed a strong cult of personality. Dubbed the "bald murderer", Rákosi imitated Stalinist political and economic programs, resulting in Hungary experiencing one of the harshest dictatorships in Europe.Granville, Johanna, The First Domino: International Decision Making during the Hungarian Crisis of 1956, Texas A&M University Press, 2004. Gati, Charles, Failed Illusions: Moscow, Washington, Budapest, and the 1956 Hungarian Revolt, Stanford University Press, 2006 , page 9-12 He described himself as "Stalin's best Hungarian disciple" and "Stalin's best pupil".Sugar, Peter F., Peter Hanak and Tibor Frank, A History of Hungary, Indiana University Press, 1994, , page 375-77Matthews, John P. C., Explosion: The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Hippocrene Books, 2007, , page 93-4 After Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" denouncing Stalin's cult of personality, Rákosi was ultimately removed from power and replaced by the reformist Imre Nagy, who attempted to take Hungary out of the Soviet bloc. This led to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which was brutally crushed by the Soviets. Following the failed revolution, the Soviets instituted János Kádár as the leader of Hungary. After an initial period of repressions against the revolutionaries, Kádár implemented a more moderate form of communism, which he referred to as "Goulash Communism." He would rule until 1988, when he was removed from power just before the "revolution" that ended Communism in Hungary.
Hungary and the Russian Federation
1991–2002 After 1991, Hungarian-Russian relations improved, but within the context of Hungary's increasing commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration. Hungary participated in NATO's Partnership for Peace from 1994 under Prime Minister Gyula Horn, becoming a full member in 1999, during Viktor Orbán's first term as prime minister.
In 1994, during the Boross Government Hungary and Russia signed an agreement about the handling of international debt between the Soviet Union and Hungary. In 1995, during the Horn Government, the leaders of the two countries met again to monitor the ratification of previous agreements and to sign an agreement about boosting bilateral foreign investment. No further major meetings took place between the leaders of Russia and Hungary until the Medgyessy Government.
In 2000, during Viktor Orbán's first term as Prime Minister of Hungary, the country left the International Investment Bank, citing a lack of transparency.
Medgyessy–Gyurcsány era (2002–2009) During the Medgyessy Government (2002–2004) and the governments of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány (First Gyurcsány Government, 2004–2006; Second Gyurcsány Government 2006–2009) relations continued to improve, and leaders of Hungary and Russia met several times, renewing their commitment to economic collaboration, especially in the energy sector.
In 2005, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov signed an agreement of economic cooperation in Moscow. In the same visit, Ferenc Gyurcsány also met with President Vladimir Putin. During this meeting, Putin promised Russia will return artifacts looted during World War II to Hungary. In 2006, Russia passed a law allowing the return of said stolen artifacts to Hungary. In the same year, 2006, Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov visited Hungary. Putin paid his respects at a memorial of the 1956 uprising, said that Russia is not responsible for the atrocities. On this visit, Putin personally returned the looted artifacts as previously agreed.
In his 2007 Munich speech, Vladimir Putin heavily criticized the United States and said that Russia will not tolerate Western dominance. In this period, Russia's foreign policy started to be monitored with more suspicion in the United States, and US ambassador April H. Foley was keen to know where Hungary was going to stand. She met with Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány to talk about her concerns about Hungary getting too close with Russia. In their conversation Ferenc Gyurcsány claimed he was not aware of declining relations between the United States, and according to Foley's report, he got defensive about his relationship with Russia. Following this meeting, US ambassador April H. Foley also met with Viktor Orbán who was then the leader of the opposition in Hungary. In 2007, Orbán was publicly critical of Russia and Foley felt reassured that Orbán has a strong commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration and is strongly anti-Russian.
During the year 2007, relations between Western nations and Russia continued to deteriorate. Estonia removed a Soviet monument which angered the local Russian minority and the Russian government, causing violent clashes between police and protesters in Estonia and the blockade of the Estonian embassy in Moscow. Later in the same year, a Finno-Ugric conference was held in Udmurtia, home to a Finno-Ugric minority in Russia. President Vladimir Putin invited the governments of Hungary and Finland, both independent nations speaking Finno-Ugric languages, however high-ranking members of the third independent Finno-Ugric-speaking nation, Estonia were not invited due to the incident involving the Soviet monument in Estonia. Viktor Orbán, then the leader of the opposition urged the prime minister to decline Putin's invitation, citing that Russia's goal is to use the conference to isolate Estonia. In the end, both Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and Finnish president Tarja Halonen attended the conference. Negative perception of this move was widespread, and Ferenc Gyurcsány attempted to control the damage by signalling commitment to the Euro-Atlantic community.
Orbán era (2010–2026)
Historically Orbán was staunchly anti-Russian. He strongly criticized Ferenc Gyurcsány's foreign policy that he perceived as too pro-Russian. In 2007 he said that Hungary should use protectionist policies against countries like China and Russia, because while they are capitalist countries, they are still authoritarian. According to some reports, Orbán's views on geopolitics started to change due to the 2008 financial crisis because he perceived that the United States's dominant status in global politics is not going to last, and a multipolar world will become the norm, with Russia and China rivaling the United States' on the global stage. After his shift away from his previously strong anti-Russian views, Orbán often mentioned the importance of powerful "Eastern countries", and in a 2024 speech he declared that a new world order is unfolding.
In 2010 Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced his foreign relations plan, the "Eastern Opening Policy." Created in opposition to Hungary's western alliances such as the European Union (EU) and NATO, the Eastern Opening plan heavily prioritized Russia as a viable ally, and efforts were taken to secure that tight relationship throughout 2013–2014. One major proof of this is the bilateral agreement between the two nations over the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary, which called into the question the risk of Hungary becoming financially dependent on Russia for more than a few decades.
Following the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in 2014, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán rejected imposing sanctions on Russia despite EU pressure. This has led to officials in the EU and NATO to accuse Hungary of being a "Trojan Horse", acting ultimately in the interests of Russia.
In 2015 and 2017, Vladimir Putin visited Budapest to meet with Orbán to discuss bilateral ties.